After two successful VM Game Night events in April and May, where Kenya no. 4 Mehul Gohil wowed audiences with two simultaneous chess exhibitions, he returned for the third edition on the 15th of July, as a tournament participant to “blitz” his way to victory with a perfect nine (9) points from nine (9) rounds in the FIDE rated event.
What was unique about this tournament was that entry was free and all thirty two (32) of the initial places that were available were filled within hours of registration having opened. In the end, a total of 34 players got to play after some of the initial registrants dropped out and others registered on the spot at the Village Market venue.
The format of the tournament was a nine (9) round Swiss pairing form, played at a time control of five (5) minutes per player for each game and six (6) prizes were on offer for players from two (2) federations, which included Kenya and Nigeria.
Prize winners were as follows:
- 1st Place (Overall) – Mehul Gohil (9 pts)
- 2nd Place (Overall) – Joseph Methu (7.5 pts)
- 3rd Place (Overall) – FM Stephen Ouma (6.5 pts)
- 1st Place (Anchor Chess Club) – CM Vasanth Ramesh (5.5 pts)
- 2nd Place (Anchor Chess Club) – Sumit Deshpande (5 pts)
- 3rd Place (Anchor Chess Club) – Joseph Makori Omboga (5 pts)
All prize winners received medals and Village Market gift vouchers ranging in value from KES 1,000 to KES 3,000.
The officiating team consisted of IA Paras Gudka (Chief Arbiter), NA Hannah Muthoni Wangari (Deputy Chief Arbiter) and NA Cheryl Ngima (Assistant Arbiter).
(All photos are courtesy of Village Market)
Related Links:
- Final Standings (chess-results)
- More photos (Facebook)